Scene 4 — Lindsey

Lindsey blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. The temperature was rising rapidly; it was going to be a hot day. She took Cal’s arm and they began working on establishing their running cadence. They got up to speed faster than Lindsey had expected - Cal having done this while the ‘guide’ part of the pairing gave him a better understanding of how to pay attention to subtle cues from his partner.

As they jogged, Lindsey took a moment to reflect on things so far today. It was hard to be anything but pleased about the outcome so far. Despite the challenges of Cal’s swim leg, they still ended up in first. That was down to a team effort, she realized, reflecting on Cal’s dogged determination on the bike and her effective distraction to slow the other teams. The good partnership seemed to be continuing during this run/obstacle leg - they had quickly found their rhythm as running partners with one blind and had successfully navigated the first obstacle quickly using good teamwork.

After what Lindsey thought was about 10 minutes of running the pair approached the second obstacle. Lindsey took a few moments to survey it and read the directions, then began explaining it to Cal.

“We have to cross a pit by hopping from spot to spot, like stepping stones. Each spot is a different size. They aren’t flat, they are rounded, sort of like a baseball base. The material looks similar to that too, so I’m guessing they are somewhat soft. The pit is filled with more of that damn beet juice and if we fall in we get a 5 minute penalty for each person that gets dirty. I assume it stains like crazy so that’s how they judge it.”

“Do the bases or stones or whatever we want to call them move around at all? Also, I’m assuming you think we can get across in less than 10 minutes so it doesn’t make sense to take the penalty, right?” Cal asked.

“Good question, we might be better off just going for a swim if the bases aren’t steady. Although it wouldn’t be a swim, it says it’s only 4 feet deep. I think I can test on the first base, it’s within easy reach, let me position you to steady me if I need it,” Lindsey said, then guided Cal so that he was standing near the edge of the pit.

She steadied herself by holding on to his shoulder with one hand, and with her opposite leg tentatively reached out for the base. She probed gently with her foot, using Cal to steady herself and was satisfied after a few pokes that it was solid. She transferred her weight and positioned herself with one foot on the shore and the other on the base.

“It seems to be on solid ground, must be a piling or something underneath,” she told Cal. “This first step is easy, I’m just going to guide you across to the base. Take a slightly longer than normal stride with your right leg. I’ll push or pull your shoulder if you’re too far or too short.”